Ms. McBurney has served on the Board of Directors, Finance Committee, and Program Area Committee 5 on Environmental Radiation and Radioactive Waste of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. She was a delegate to the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th international congresses of the International Radiation Protection Association, and served on the IRPA Rules Committee from 2008-2012. She has served the Health Physics Society as President (2005-2006) Secretary (1999-2001), Director (1996-98), and as a member of the Nominating, Government Relations, and Program Committees and Medical Section. She remains active with the HPS South TX Chapter and AR Chapter. She has served as a board member of the American Board of Health Physics (1990-1994) and as Chairman (1994) Ms. McBurney has additionally served as Chair of American Academy of Health Physics Professional Standards and Ethics Committee. Her professional accolades include the Distinguished Member Award from the AAHP, CRCPD’s Gerald S. Parker Award of Merit, the Distinguished Emeritus Member for the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, and the Distinguished Alumna Award from Henderson State University.

In addition to technical expertise, serving as a state regulator requires and the ability to work impartially with regulated parties and diverse members of the public on potentially divisive topics. The trust consistently placed in Ms. McBurney in her thirty years as a state regulator, and later supporting state regulators, is a testament to her technical skill and to her character. Her career path was trail blazing. Initially denied a role in her chosen field of health physics specifically because of her gender, Ruth McBurney persevered and excelled in leadership roles during a time when relatively few women entered the profession. Her success and professionalism made her a role model both to women aspiring to health physics careers, and to all the health physicists who benefitted from her skilled leadership. The universal respect and admiration she has earned within the health physics community are testament to her consistent ethical behavior and professional excellence.

The career of Ruth E. McBurney, CHP, reflects the spirit of Joyce P. Davis. Her enduring contributions help ensure that the profession of health physics and the American Academy of Health Physics will continue to serve the nation and the world long into the future.

Rod was certified in 1996, thus starting his AAHP/ABHP journey. He volunteered for the ABHP Part I Panel in 2017, becoming Chair in 2021 and Past-Chair in 2022. In 2023, he joined the ABHP Board and is the current Parliamentarian. Rod continues to provide support to the AAHP/ABHP programs through serving as a member on the AAHP/ABHP task force to develop a new website, and a member of the AAHP/ABHP’s growth of membership task force.

Rod still finds time to support the HPS as: a past Associate Editor and current Peer Reviewer for the Health Physics Journal; Past-Chair of the ANSI/HPS N13.45-2024 Working Group; a current reviewer for Radiation Physics and Chemistry Journal; past HPS liaison to ANS, 2021-2023; past member of the History Committee, Professional Development Committee, Continuing Education Committee, and the ASTM Standards Workgroup. He is an active member of the East Tennessee Chapter HPS, developed and taught health physics courses for the nuclear industry, and is a consultant in retirement.

Rod’s passion for health physics and his vast experience dealing with multi-interpersonal and work-related issues significantly contributed to the successful accomplishment of implementing a new procedure system streamlining the ABHP procedural work-process. The ABHP Board is proud to recognize Rod Reed as the 2025 Bill Fitzgerald Service Award.